Environmental factors are pretty much just summarizing the link I posted above to the "RP - Mating" page, but I can definitely elaborate. Generally these are the things you can control within your home:
- Daylight. Birds are diurnal, so the more daylight and waking hours they see, the warmer the climate would be getting. Spring and summer means longer days and shorter nights, as well as more warmth and more vegetation and growth. These are all things that are beneficial when caring for babies, and it's wired into them that more light means better breeding conditions. This is why a lot of people cover their birds for 10-12 hours a day so they get "darkness", but in more extreme cases, some birds may spend 18 or more hours covered or in the dark to break them of broody behaviour.
- Food. This is a bit iffy, because you would have to know how much your specific birds eat so you're not restricting or starving them. If there is a great excess of food, as would be present in spring and summer seasons for what birds eat, it would tell them there's enough to sustain babies too. What I do is measure out how much my birds eat (my lovebirds are around 60-65 grams, and they get 1.5 teaspoons of pellets plus some dried vegetables, and then seeds for foraging that are scattered around their cages, and they receive sprouts and fresh greens each day - the only measurement I am strict with is the 1.5 teaspoons/day in their actual food bowl since the other sources of food aren't always a guaranteed find if hidden well and whatnot) and give them a bit extra in case I can't change their food at the same time the next day so it's
enough, but not a ton. Ensure that regardless of breeding season that all of your birds have enough to eat, and that they are receiving a good and balanced diet, as dietary needs vary from species to species.
- Changes. If they're in their cages frequently and see the same toys and perches all the time, it will look like a stable environment. Stable is both good and bad. If you're bringing home a new bird, they need to adjust themselves to your routine and become accustomed to their new home. However, when they are comfortable and other breeding triggers come around, something that's good to do is change up the cage often. I do this every week, just take every perch and toy out of every cage for cleaning and load the cage up with different toys and perches in different positions. They still know it's home, but it's "unstable". Something that is constantly changing isn't a good place to raise young, especially considering how vulnerable baby birds are. They can't have their nest being messed with all the time if they expect to have babies there!
Also, I personally don't use hidey holes, happy huts, or tented perches because I think they provide too much of a nesty feel (and the soft materials also give the birds something to hump
). If she finds an area in her cage that could provide some seclusion and let her create a nest in them, remove the object. If any of the birds start getting territorial or too attached to any specific toys, this is when the toy rotation comes in handy. You should take those toys away if you want to discourage mating behaviour.
(That was so horrible. She died in surgery. I wonder if she would have lived if I had known about Dr. Clubb then.) If she does start laying, I've heard calcium supplements are supposed to help.
